American tanks fight off Iraqis

US troops mounted an air and tank assault on Baghdad to repel an Iraqi counterattack on Tuesday, a day after targeting Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his two sons with bunker-busting bombs.

Iraqi forces staged an assault on the Americans in the capital shortly after dawn, sending buses and trucks full of fighters over the River Tigris, which divides the city of five million.

Tanks with the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division took up positions on a bridge over the river. At least 50 Iraqi fighters were killed, and two US soldiers were reported wounded, one seriously, by rooftop snipers.

A US A-10 "warthog" warplane went down near Baghdad early today, US Central Command said. The pilot ejected safely from the aircraft and was recovered by coalition ground forces near the airport.

During Monday's assault on Baghdad, a B-1B bomber carried out a massive strike on what the coalition described as a "leadership target".

The Washington Times said Saddam was believed to be meeting at the location with his two sons, intelligence officials and senior Baath party members.

US officials said American intelligence learned of the high level meeting in the Mansur neighbourhood on Monday morning.

It was not clear who was killed. The strike left a smoking crater of dirt and concrete and destroyed three nearby houses. Iraqi rescue workers pulled two bodies from the rubble, but said the toll could be as high as 14.

As American and British troops advanced in Iraq, their political leaders were meeting in Belfast. It was the second summit for US President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair since the fighting began.

"The hostilities phase is coming to a conclusion," US Secretary of State Colin Powell said. Without elaborating, he said the US government is sending a team this week to Iraq to begin laying the groundwork for an interim authority.